Tonarelli v. Gibbons

The plaintiff, Kathleen Tonarelli, as the administratrix of the estate of George Tonarelli, brought an action for the wrongful death of George Tonarelli against the defendant, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company, a corporation (Rock Island). George Tonarelli died when he drove a pickup truck onto the tracks at a railroad crossing and was struck by a Rock Island passenger train. The jury returned a $1,500,000 verdict for the plaintiff. The jury further found, under the doctrine of comparative negligence, that the decedent was 25% negligent. Accordingly, it reduced the verdict…